With the first rays of the sun appearing on the horizon, the beginning of a new day is marked. People go to work, and noise begins to fill the streets.

Like Zack, Austin, and Shun, meet every morning for breakfast, the others do it too. Ryu, Kenzo, Kaede, and most of the students also have breakfast together. The only difference is that due to the number of people, the place where they eat is bigger.

Due to the number of people eating here every morning, laughter, talk, and fights fill the atmosphere, not allowing even a minute of silence. Or that's how it usually is.

In a large dining room, a continuous silence, only interrupted by the sound of cutlery colliding with the plate, penetrated the hearts of its guests.

Kaede, seeing this from her seat, sighed.

The normally cheerful faces of her students were now filled with uncertainty and had a somber air to them. They weren't the only ones who felt this way. Despite trying to do something to cheer up her students, Kaede's thoughts weren't positive either. Just when everyone was wondering what they could do to...

BAM

Suddenly, a loud knock sounded at the entrance to the dining room, and the doors were thrown open, letting in whoever was outside the place.

The loud noise drew everyone's attention, and their gazes went to the entrance, wondering who was making such a ruckus. When they saw who they were, the conversations slowly faded away, and the gazes became more solemn.

Four people entered the place without the slightest discomfort in front of the multiple glances towards them.

"Meal! I am hungry!" Tatsu said as he approached the table.

"You don't mind if I take something, do you?" Without the slightest courtesy, Tatsu grabbed the leg of some exotic animal from the plate of one of the people already seated and brought it directly to his mouth.

“Yuck! This is disgusting! Do you want to poison me?" After tasting the paw, Tatsu spat out what he had in his mouth not caring that the remains of him fell on other people. After that, he left the bitten paw on the plate from which he had taken it.

"Let me know next time" he spoke as he prepared to follow Yamato and the others. The other 'heroes' ignored Tatsu's actions and headed for the farthest seats, specially reserved for them.

One of the students who was sitting tried to get up to say something, only to be stopped by his friends, who shook their heads.

"Hey, you. What are you waiting for? Bring food” Tatsu commanded, addressing one of the servants in a corner of the dining room.

Yamato and the others don't usually eat with them. The only time they ate together was the first day when the king examined their classes. Normally, they usually eat in one of the main dining rooms, where they frequently interact with nobles. The fact that they are here surprised them quite a bit.

Hearing this, the maid bowed slightly and hurried out of the dining room to inform the chef.

"Can't you be less disgusting?" Lorelei asked Tatsu, who sat next to her.

"Shut up! I'm starving and haven't had any decent food since we got here. They only serve us garbage” Tatsu replied as he grabbed something to eat from his plate.

"At least it increases our stats" Seto said as he tried to eat the incredibly salty bread next to him.

"Of course. Otherwise, I don't think I could stand being here another minute"

"Could you stop being so childish" Lorelei reproached seeing his behavior again.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Leave me alone"

The 'hero´s companions' began to chat in loud voices, without caring that they were bothering their classmates. With the exception of Yamato who was eating quietly, it seemed like they were making as much noise as possible to disturb them.

Seeing this, Kaede's eyes filled with disappointment. Ever since she came into this world, her status as a teacher had disappeared in their eyes, and she couldn't do anything to stop this behavior.

Yamato and the other three received special training, away from the rest. Despite not having seen them in a long time, they didn't seem to have changed much. In fact, it seems that their attitude had only gotten worse.

None of the people in this room are fools. If their attitude has worsened after spending six months training under the best aces in the Kingdom, that can only mean that they have tolerated their attitude. If the most important people in the kingdom tolerate them, anything they say will be of no use. It is possible that what they say will get them into serious trouble.

With each passing second, words without the slightest consideration came out of their mouths, directed towards the others in this very place, testing their patience, making them want to get up on more than one occasion and tell them a few truths. Only Yamato remained silent during the meal, so the others didn't know what he was thinking.

After finishing eating, Yamato got up, causing the other three to get up as well. They hadn't even finished the food on their plates. It was obvious who controlled the group. Before going out the door, Yamato turned to the other students and said:

“I hope we meet in the future. If there is any chance, I would like us to fight together later"

BAM

The dining room door closed after leaving, leaving behind the rest of the students, who, far from feeling moved, seemed like they were going to collapse at any moment.

(Maybe telling her wasn't the best option) Kaede thought as she tried to force herself to finish what was left on her plate.

(No, they had a right to know. In the long run, ignoring it would have been worse) Kaede shook her head away from bad thoughts, and she began to reminisce on the events of last night.

…

"The battlefield?! They are going to send us to the battlefield!!” Ryu yelled upon hearing the news.

“Shhh!! Keep your voice down” Saki, who was wearing her priestess clothes, scolded him.

Ryu quickly raised his hands to his mouth, and looked at Kaede intently, asking for an explanation.

Kaede and the others were at one of the training grounds they regularly use.

Although the palace is guarded at night, the training ground is a public place that can be accessed by anyone, so there is no need to guard that area. And that is why the guards do not come by frequently.

With the exception of magic classes like Zack, who lives in the magic tower, and Yamato and his companions, who don't know exactly where their rooms are, everyone else is gathered here. Not everyone is happy to be here after being dragged from their bedrooms in the middle of the night.

Seeing that it would be troublesome to start telling the story from the beginning, Kaede simply stood in front of them and started telling what was in the letter she read. With each word coming from her mouth, their faces turned a little paler.

After they finished listening to what Kaede was saying. Airi, at the front, could barely stop herself from falling to the ground.

“I-Is it true? Is Earthholder a demon attack point?” Kenzo asked trying to make himself understood. Nobody doubted what Kaede said was true, they just wanted to see if there was a possibility.

Kaede nodded but then shook her head.

"I'm not sure. Before coming here, I stopped by the library to see if it was true. None of the books mentioned anything about that castle being under siege by northern troops." Hearing Kaede's words, the others began to relax.

Right.

How can it be possible that they are sent to fight for their lives without having learned everything they need? None of them are stupid. This isn't a manga where the heroes are summoned to another world to fight for their lives, and he says: Okay, let's do it.

None of them have loyalty to the kingdom, and most of them had planned to escape on more than one occasion. The only thing they did not expect was that they would have to fight so soon.

Before her students could relax any further, Kaede's voice rang out again.

"But"

Her students tensed upon hearing those words.

“Eartholder Castle is located on the northern border of the kingdom, and it is very close to one of the points that connect the northern continent with the kingdom. Although it was not documented anywhere, it may be a point of conflict” Kaede stopped speaking. There was no comfortable way to say this.

"It is possible that we will go to the battlefield" Silence reigned on the training ground. For a moment it seemed that no one was going to say anything. The news was too dreadful. In the morning they thought they were going to train, and at night they discover they are going to a place where they could lose their lives.

After a few minutes, a voice sounded from among the students.

"And what are we going to do now?"

…

Kaede is still asking that same question. But first of all, a question kept constantly appearing before her.

(Who wrote that letter?)

On the other side of the castle, Zack and his companions had finished having breakfast a while ago, a small carriage was leaving the castle in the direction of the city of Stormblade.